Digital connectivity between Kenya and South Africa is taking a step forward with the deployment of the first terrestrial fibre cable from Mombasa to Johannesburg.

The new route, which will connect South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia, Zimbabwe and the DRC, will offer high-speed connectivity to the countries that are landlocked, according to Africa Business Communities. The DRC leg links Goma and Kananga.

While also ensuring resilience and extra latency, the cable will act as an alternative in the event of a submarine cable outage between Mombasa and Johannesburg.

The project – by Cassava Technologies, a subsidiary of pan-African tech group Liquid Dataport – provides hyperscalers, enterprises and wholesale carriers with direct connectivity to data centres and cloud services in Johannesburg and Nairobi.

According to Hardy Pemhiwa, president and group CEO of Cassava Technologies, the new route ‘will not only bring increased access to high-speed connectivity, but will also improve lives and allow businesses to create and sustain millions of jobs’.

23 May 2023
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